From Practice to Page: Imaginations of Change in Community Work and Fiction

About the Programme:
“We cannot create what we cannot imagine,” wrote Lucille Clifton. What are the challenges of imagining and enacting change in fiction and community work? What can stories capture that case files cannot, and how does the practice of social work shape fiction? Join co-founder of community bookshop Dakota Dreams Chan Wai Han and author Diana Rahim in a conversation that draws from their experiences in the social service sector, community building and centring voices from the margins. Together, they will explore the ethics and necessity of writing about lived realities and facilitating change within the context of community.

About the Speakers:
Though trained as a social worker, Chan Wai Han’s career has revolved around publishing and translation. She is more literate in English, less in Chinese, and regretfully even less in the National Language. She loves making new friends by using their names in Chinese characters to write blessing poems. Singing Cantonese gospel operas is her other joy.

Diana Rahim is a writer and visual artist whose work circles around the themes of gender justice, the experience of the environment and the politics of public space. Her visual work has been exhibited in National Gallery Singapore and Museum of Modern Art Saitama, Japan. She is also part of Beyond the Hijab, a collective sharing critical perspectives, personal stories and research on Muslim women in Singapore. We Saw Mountains is her first book.